Method of and mechanism for winding strand material



. 1,639,676 7 Aug. 1 STHRQNSEN Y I 'METHOD OF AND MECHANISM FOR WINDINGSTRAND MATERIAL Filed Dec. 29, 1923 I i r i Patented Aug. 23, 1927.

PATENT O F CE! SIGURD TI-IRONSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOWESTERN ELECTRIC GOM- PANY, INCOB1?O RAT-ED, OE'NE'W" YORK, N. Y., ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD OF AND MEOHANLESM FO B WINDING STRAND MATERIAL.

Application filed December 29 19 23. Seria1 Np. 683,302.

This invention relates. to a, method of and a. mechanism for windingstrand material, and more particularly to a method for 'spool-ing.tinsel ribbon.

It is desirable in the spooling of tinsel ribbon that the layand.distribution of the ribbon be such that each layer of the ribbonwvillunwind freely and without the slightest catch on the adjacent helices,or lower layers wound, or on the flanges of the spool. In. order toattain such spooling it is essential that the distribution of the ribbonbe uniform across the face of the spool, and that neither ridges. noropenings be formed adjacentto the flanges of the spool, otherwise theribbon maybe forced underneath the lowerv layers or wedgedfadjacent tothe flanges of the spool,

An object of this invention is to provide an improved method;forfspooling ribbon at high speeds and in such manner thatt-he ribbonmay be readily unwound from, the spool and will not tangle or be subected to stresses or strains which might deform or break it.

' Another. object of this invention 1s to provide a simple andinexpensive mechanism by which the above described method may beperformed. 3

A mechanism made in accordance with the invention comprises, briefly, arotatable spindle a spool capable of being mounted on said spindle, adistributor finger, a cam for guiding and moving forward said finger,and resilient means for moving said finger, guided by the said cam, backto its starting position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appearfrom the fol lowing detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate an apparatus by which the methodmay be performed.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a tinsel ribbon spooling mechanismand driving means thereof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front view of the tinsel ribbon spoolingmechanism partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a right-hand end View of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a section, on an enlarged scale,

taken through the center of the spool showing the lay of the ribbonthereon.

The improved method for'spooling tinsel ribbon will, be'readilyunderstood by a description of an apparatus by which it may beperformed. 7

Referring now to the drawings in detail in which like reference numeralsdesignate similar parts throughout the several views, 10 indicates asteel spool; whichis suitably mounted on a rotatable spindle 11 and heldthereon tightly against a flange 12, which is secured to. the spindle 11by a knurled clamping nut 13. Mounted loosely around the spindle 11 is aspiral gear 14 having a prolonged hub 15, on theend of which is formed acam 16, the said gear 14 rotating the cam '16 relatively to the spool10. The gear l l is .actuatedlby a pinion g ee-r17 se cured to arotatable shaft 18, which is in turn driven .by-a spiral gear 19attached thereto, the said gear meshing with a. small gear 20 suitablyattached to the spindle 11. Secured to theospindle 1 1 is a frictiondrive pulley 21 which is driven by another friction drive pulley 22,said pulley being actuated by a, small pinion gear 23 which meshes witha spiral gear 24 securedv toa power driven shaft 25.

Suitably located.immediately beneath the spool 10 is a. distributingfinger 30, which 34 and an end piece 36, which is secured to the end ofthe stand 33, is a compression spring 37. Covering the top of thekey-way 32 and the sides of the stand 33 is aplate 38 which is suitablyfastened thereon.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows:

The spool 10 is mounted inplace on the spindle 11 and the tinsel ribbona0 is drawn from a supply source (not shown), threaded through thedistributor finger 30 and then wrapped around the spool 10.

Upon connecting the source of power, which may be a motor (not shown),suitably connected to the shaft 25, the spindle 11 is caused to rotate,revolving the spool 10, which is secured thereto, and also causing thecam 16 to rotate through the gear train previously described. The cam 16upon being actuated moves the finger 3O forward, distributing the ribbon40 across the face lay of approximately .005.

of the spool 10, and causes the spring 37 to become compressed. Uponreaching the end of the forward throw of the cam 16, the finger3O isforced back, guided by the cam 16, to its normal position by the spring37 The throw of the cam must be such as to enable the ends next to theflanges of the spool to fill evenly with the center of the spool. If thecam throw is made too great,

the ribbon piles at the ends of the spool, whereastoo short a cam throwcauses the formation of openings which permits upper layers to slideunderneath the lower ones, or to wedge next to the flanges of the spool.

By changing the ratio of the driving gear train, the cam 16 may be madeto rotate faster or slower than the spool 10. The ratio of the speed ofthe cam 16 to the speed of the spool 10 determines the pitch of theribbon lay and the amount of lag in the ribbon, the lag being directlyproportioned to the pitch of the lay.

A ratio that has obtained good results is one revolution of the cam to4L94I10/29 revolutions of the spool, or a pitch of the If the ribbon isabout .012 this lay causes an overlapping of the ribbon of about .007.The ratio being uneven shifts the starting point of spooling to adifferent place at every turn of the cam.

By maintaining a very small pitch and lag the ribbon is wound on thespool in overlapping helices (Fig. 4), the individual turns 46 of eachhelix overlapping at 47. Furthermore in reducing the angle of the lag toa minimum it is possible to guide the ribbon for distributionpractically clear up to the flanges of the spool, as indicated at 48(Fig- 4;).

The advantage of winding ribbon in accordance with the present inventionis readily apparent in that, due to each turn of the ribbon overlappingthe adjacent turn,

the ribbon coils in belng unwound are necessarily prevented fromcatching upon or engaglng the edges of each other. Furthermore, tinselribbon so woundmaybe Wltll:

drawn at practically right angles to the face of the spool, thusdecreasing the possibilities of tangling, as well as to greatly reducethe tension and stress on the ribbon. Then too,

in winding ribbon in accordance with the method disclosed the ribbon maybe guided for distribution practically clear up to the flanges of thespool, reducing the number of ridges and openings adjacent to theflanges of the spool and permitting a much more uniform distribution,which results in freedom from tangling in unwinding the ribbon.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for storing tinsel ribbon in such manner that it maybe withdrawn from storage without tangling, an arbor for receiving atake-up spool, means for rotating said arbor, a distributor, and meansrotated about the axis of said arbor at speed to cause the movement ofsaid distributor so that the tinsel ribbon 1s wound onthe spool inhelices having ap-' proximately a 50% overlap.

, 2. In a mechanism for storing tinsel ribbon in such manner that .itmay be with- SIGURD TI-IRONSEN.

